APPLES AS A FOOD. 229 



APPLES AS A FOOD. 



(A discussion following the reading of a paper on "Foods and 

 Their Values," by Dr. Mary S. Whetstone, published in the May 

 issue.) 



Mr. A. J. Philips (Wis.) : I want to ask the doctor a question, 

 and that is this. What single fruit is the best, supposing we 

 could get but one, for human beings to eat? I am pretty well 

 satisfied it is the apple. I enjoyed this paper. I went down stairs 

 and tried to get up everybody to hear this paper. I was out with 

 her on institute work last winter, and I was always anxious to 

 be present when she spoke, and wherever she went they listened 

 to her talk with the greatest interest, and her paper to me has been 

 very interesting this afternoon. This society has been rightly 

 named as an auxiliary. We are trying to encourage the pro- 

 duction of fruit, and now the doctor comes here and tells us we 

 are on the right track. I wish she would come down to La 

 Crosse and make the people believe that apples are as nutritious 

 as potatoes. I went there with a load of apples and tried to sell 

 them. They asked me how much I wanted for them, and I told 

 them a dollar a bushel. I drove in on the north side, a woman 

 hailed me and said, "Have you potatoes?" "No," I said, "I've 

 got apples." "O, I want potatoes." By and by another woman 

 came out and said, "Plaze, an' hev yez pertaties?" I said, "No, 

 apples." She said, "Oi don't want ony." I drove some forty rods 

 further and stopped at another house. I asked the lady if she 

 wanted some apples. She said, "Let me see what you've got." I 

 had four or five different kinds, and she tried one or two of each 

 variety, and by that time her three children had come out to the 

 wagon, and she gave each of them a couple of apples. A neighbor 

 woman came out and asked if I had potatoes. The other woman 

 said no, I had apples, and told her to hold her apron, and she gave 

 her some. A third woman came out and wanted to see my apples. 

 The first woman helped herself and gave the third some apples. 

 Finally the first two women went away without buying any, and 

 I had only one left. After looking the apples over and while eat- 

 ing some she said, "I don't want any today, but if you will cjme 

 around some time next week I will take a peck." (Laughter.) 

 I never went back. The truth is the people don't know the value 

 of apples or fruit of any kind. We ought to encourage the growth 

 of apples, I don't care if they are nothing but seedlings. People 

 ought to feed vegetables and apples to their children. Look at 

 that test they had down at Washington. The meat eaters never 

 got there at all. I can always tell those children that eat meat 

 and hardly ever get any fruit. They are not so healthy and not 

 so enthusiastic as those that live on fruit and vegetables. If we 

 ate less meat and more fruit we would raise more apples. (Ap- 

 plause.) 



Prof. N. E. Hansen (S. D.) : According to Scandinavian 

 mythology it was the belief that if the people ate apples they 

 would never become old, or if the old people would eat them they 

 would become young again. I think we might safely adopt this 



